Drama vs. Sitcom: The Ongoing Battle
Written By: Sally Smith October 15, 2015 In order to read this, you should know the labels used to grade television scores: *'Legend': 300+ *'Powerhouse': 250-299 *'Icon': 200-249 *'Megahit': 150-199 *'Big Hit': 125-149 *'Hit': 115-124 *'Solid': 100-114 *'Marginal': 75-99 *'Flop': 50-74 *'Debacle': 0-49 Throughout the years, the media has gone on and on about how "the drama is making a comeback" or "the sitcom is resurging", and we're going to take a look into this. From about the 2005-06 season to the 2007-08 season, dramas reigned supreme. The gems of Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives led the pack, and sitcoms sat far behind. I won't go much into this, because it's been widely covered and it's pretty old news. 2011-12: Return of the Sitcom We'll start with the 2011-12 season's return of the sitcom, as many billed it. The three biggest dramas, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, and Criminal Minds, were still borderline megahits/big hits, and three previous big hit comedies catapulted well into icon territory. They didn't reach the heights of the dramas, which got to powerhouse levels, but they were getting close. 2012-13: Dominance of the Sitcom The next year (2012-13) saw the top three dramas take minor falls, but still maintain their bonafide mega/big hit labels. The top three comedies for the season, 2 Broke Girls, The Big Bang Theory, and Modern Family, all continued to grow, and one even reached powerhouse status. The top comedy was now over 100 points ahead of the top drama. 2013-14: War of Comedy vs. Drama But then...Grey's Anatomy exploded and the dramas took a big step back in the right direction. The aforementioned Grey's Anatomy recorded the highest ratings in the history of television, and it was followed by big hits Last Resort and Scandal. The top three comedies included Two and a Half Men, 1600 Penn, and Modern Family. Due to Grey's Anatomy's overwhelming success, one could argue that the dramas took over this season, but that's not really the case as the top three was rounded out by comedies. Modern Family returned to its position as the top comedy after a slow season from The Big Bang Theory, and it reached powerhouse level for the first time ever. It was distantly followed by Two and a Half Men, which took another relative step down, and newbie 1600 Penn. The playing field between dramas and comedies was about equal at this point. 2014-15: Season of the Dramas At the end of the 2013-14 season, the landscape could've been tipped either way, but it was the dramas that grabbed the power. ABC found a Grey's Anatomy successor in Wisteria Lane, which was the first newbie to open at legend level, they brought Revenge ''to Thursday, which allowed it to soar from borderline hit to nearly-powerhouse, and they also brought ''Nashville to Thursday, where it snagged icon status. Meanwhile, the comedies had an awful year, with leader Two and a Half Men barely scraping out megahit status, newbie Central Perk mimicking the pattern, and former powerhouse Modern Family falling four levels down to hit status. It looks as though the comedies are on their way back at this point, and a lot of that can be attributed to the stellar development seasons CBS, FOX, and NBC are having.